


The Greatest Gift

by Baroness_Blixen



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Fictober, flangst, late season 8, mulder and scully are going to be parents, which is to say it's fluff with the slightest hint of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-03 22:29:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16334450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baroness_Blixen/pseuds/Baroness_Blixen
Summary: Mulder finds a wooden fox for the baby in the nursery. Who gave it to Scully?





	The Greatest Gift

“Where did you get this?” Mulder’s voice is hushed, as if he doesn’t dare speak up here in this room that’s going to be the baby’s nursery. He touches the small wooden object, a fox on the run, and lets his finger trace each individual line. Scully watches him pick it up and weigh it in his hand. A smile flits over his face. She almost tells him how beautiful he is here in her apartment, in their child’s life.

“It was a gift,” Scully says.

“A wooden fox,” he chuckles. “Is it from your mom?” The happy glint in his eyes makes her want to lie and say yes. “Someone put a lot of thought into it. The workmanship is excellent. Your mom has good taste.” Any other time in their lives maybe she could have let this little white lie go. The place they’re in, muddled and foggy already, leaves no room for anything but the truth.

“It’s not from mom.” His fingers still on the small toy.

“It’s not?” Mulder swallows and blinks. She puts a hand on her stomach; it’s become a habit. The baby is quiet inside, maybe sleeping. Mulder glances at the placement of her hand before his eyes wander back to her face.

“Agent Doggett gave it to me.”

“Agent… the guy you’re working with? The guy who was supposed to find me?” She’s not going to remind him that Agent Doggett was essential in finding him. They haven’t talked about it. They’ve barely talked at all since he’s come back from the dead. They’re staying away from anything that is important or that could break open wounds that are far away from being healed.

“Agent Doggett has become invaluable to the x-files, Mulder. He’s a good guy.”

“I’m sure,” Mulder grumbles and puts the wooden fox back on the shelf. He leaves the half finished nursery in long strides that Scully has problems following.

“Where are you going?” She asks watching him put on his coat. He’s been here most of the time, quietly finding his way back. His toothbrush is here, half his laundry, most of his most important belongings. “Mulder?” She hates how fragile her voice sounds, how close to tears. It’s the hormones. But it’s also the fear of being without Mulder and of losing him again.

“I just need to…,” he trails off, standing there angrily staring at the door. “Why did he give that to you?”

“It’s just a gift, Mulder. He wanted to do something nice.”

“Very nice,” he huffs. He is jealous. Scully has seen the way Mulder looks at Doggett. The other man was there when her stomach was still growing. He was there for early cravings, for the morning sickness. For all of the things Mulder didn’t see happening. He is jealous of that.

“He was probably glad I was gone and that toy is just a reminder that I once was… someone.” His hand is on the door knob, but she doubts he wants to leave. Mulder is impulsive; if he wanted to leave, he would have been gone already.

“Take off your coat, Mulder.”

“But I-”

“Take it off. I need to sit down and I am not talking to you when you look like you might run away any moment.” They sit on the couch together. Mulder’s coat on the armrest is a reminder that none of this as easy as she wants it to be.

“Do you have any idea how much I missed you, Mulder?” It’s not a question she wants him to answer. She herself can’t explain it. She was half a person, if at all, when he was missing. Without their child growing inside of her, without any part of him at all, she would not have made it when he was found dead. He knows that. They don’t need to talk about it.

“When you were… after we found you, I had no hope left,” she takes his hand and puts it on her stomach. He doesn’t flinch. His lips twitch and he almost smiles. “This baby was all I had left of you. I couldn’t get rid of your apartment. I wanted our child to know you, to experience who you were - are. You were dead, Mulder. To the world, to me, you were gone and you were never coming back.” His hand moves on her belly and she is afraid he’s going to take it away. Scully puts her hand over his, holding him there and uniting all three of them.

“Agent Doggett gave me that wooden fox so that the baby would have something tangible. His gift made me smile, Mulder. You were gone and something was making me smile. Because it reminded me of you. Think of Agent Doggett what you want, but he is a good man.” She’s crying. She knows she is, but she can’t stop the hot, angry tears from falling.

“There’s no reason for you to be jealous, Mulder,” she adds. He remains silent, proof of her assessment. “None at all. It’s a thoughtful gift for the baby, for you and me. Can you understand that?”

“I do,” he says after a moment. “I just feel so left out. I missed so much.”

“You’re here now, Mulder. You’re going to teach the baby to walk, talk and play baseball. You’ll love him - or her - and that is the greatest gift. Don’t you agree? I choose you to do this with, Mulder. I would always choose you, no matter what. A gift, no matter how thoughtful, doesn’t change what I feel for you.”

“You really choose me?”

“I chose you a long time ago,” she says with a teary smile that he mirrors.

“I did, too,” Mulder whispers before he softly kisses her lips. It renders her breathless; every kiss as new as the first one. “I should thank Agent Doggett, huh?” He grins.

“Maybe you two could be friends.”

“Or maybe I get him a wooden dog toy in return,” Mulder ponders and Scully rolls her eyes. But maybe they can think of a gift for him together.


End file.
